About the Future-Have You Found Your Answer?

For quite a long time afterward, whenever Hokubu Genkoma went to and from school or took a break from training, she carried a heavy object in each of her pockets.

Naturally, they were the two halves of the cobblestone Yasui Makoto had split with his bare hands.

After she'd stood there stunned for a while, she'd asked for the two halves, unable to believe what she'd seen, and was astonished all over again.

The broken surface was remarkably even—almost too even. It looked as though the stone had been sliced by something sharp, or cut with a power saw and then sanded smooth.

In that moment, she had no doubt that Yasui Makoto was telling the truth. Once she'd learned and mastered all those strange poses, she'd be able to split a stone with her bare hands, too...

No, she'd be able to fully control her own strength and run at a speed that would astonish everyone.

With that thought in mind, she'd even grown a little impatient, eager to find out what the later poses were.

But as if he'd anticipated this, before she could say a word, her Trainer had stressed the matter with utmost seriousness:

"I know you're eager, but don't get ahead of yourself.

"Rushing won't help with this. You have excellent aptitude—in fact, you could say it's too good. If you really want to fully control and bring it out, it'll actually take you longer than it would an average person.

"What I'm teaching you can help you get there faster, but you have to follow my schedule and take it step by step. Otherwise, you could get seriously injured.

"Now, it's time for your regular training. Go for a run."

Honestly, she still wanted to know what the later training involved.

Still, she thought that if there was one thing she was good at, it was listening to her elders and seniors.

Her Trainer wasn't much older than her, but he seemed as mature as many of the elders in her family.

He always seemed so sure of himself, knew so many things, and had even come first in the evaluation.

I really should listen to my Trainer.

But when will I be as good as my Trainer...?

Without realizing it, Hokubu Genkoma thought of that again and couldn't help taking the two halves of the cobblestone from her pocket to study them closely.

"...Then the answer to this question, Hokubu Genkoma, is yours."

As if on reflex, Hokubu Genkoma stood up and answered loudly.

"Yes! The answer is Tokai Teio!"

The classroom fell silent for a moment, then quiet snickers began to ripple through the room.

At the front of the classroom, the teacher sighed with their back to the blackboard.

"Hokubu Genkoma, I know President Emperor is your idol, but...

"Can you really answer every question with that?

"Also, could you explain to your teacher what you're holding?"

"Ah...?"

After a moment's confusion, Hokubu Genkoma realized she was still holding the two halves of the cobblestone.

She instinctively hid them behind her back. A moment later, cheeks flushed and head bowed, she obediently held out her hands.

"They're... two rocks..."

"Rocks..."

The teacher seemed to choke a little, then shook their head helplessly.

"Don't zone out during class, and don't do things unrelated to the lesson.

"Sit down for now, and come by my office after class.

"All right, everyone, please stop laughing. Now, the answer to this question... Satono Crown, would you answer?"

"Yes."

Near the front of the classroom, a black-haired Uma Musume stood up in response.

"At the Shining Star Series, the first Uma Musume to achieve an undefeated Triple Crown was the former Student Council President and current University Department chair, Senior Symboli Rudo."

"That's right. It was Symboli Rudo. Satono Crown, please sit down."

Only then, after hurriedly stuffing the stones back into her pockets, did Hokubu Genkoma understand what the teacher had asked. She muttered, a little disgruntled, "Senior Emperor only missed out on the Kikuka Sho..."

"Now, the next point... Hmm? Hokubu Genkoma, I thought I heard you say something just now!"

"Yes! N-no, nothing! Teacher, I didn't say anything!"

"Sit down and pay attention. Remember to come to my office after class."

That evening, in the dance studio, after training.

"I heard you got called to the office today for zoning out?"

Yasui Makoto asked casually as he looked down and made calculations on his tablet.

"Huh? Trainer, you... heard about that?"

Hokubu Genkoma was doing her cooldown stretches, but now she felt awkward.

"W-well... heh-heh, I just spaced out for a little while and got caught..."

"If you hadn't been caught, were you planning to keep spacing out?"

Yasui Makoto glanced up at her, then shook his head.

"Your academic classes are important, too. A lot of what you learn can come in handy during races and training.

"In the long run, no matter what you want to do after you retire and graduate, you can't afford to neglect your studies.

"And in the short term, if you have to make up a test because you fail a class or something, I'm not going to beg your homeroom teacher for you."

At the academy, academic classes and specialized training were separate. Teachers and Trainers generally didn't interfere with each other's lesson plans.

"It's fine! I always make sure to ask Light Diamond-chan to tutor me!"

Hokubu Genkoma confidently patted her chest, then her little face drooped.

"Japanese and history are okay, but math is really hard... Physics and biology, too...

"Oh, right! You seem really good at math and biology, Trainer. How about you tutor me?"

"Then I'd suggest paying attention in class."

Yasui Makoto shook his head.

"Just because I know those subjects doesn't mean I can teach them. The Trainer evaluation doesn't test us on that."

"Oh, I see... I'll pay attention in class from now on."

Hokubu Genkoma nodded obediently.

"Besides, math and those other subjects are hard, but my grades... should be all right. I'm not as good as Light Diamond-chan or Crown-chan, but at least I won't fail."

Yasui Makoto nodded at that.

Academic performance didn't directly affect race results, but once you mastered a lot of the relevant knowledge, training would certainly become much more effective.

Making up failed classes was a hassle. Not only did the Trainer have to get involved, but the student council had to mediate, too.

He'd only just become Hokubu Genkoma's Assigned Uma Musume's Trainer, and she hadn't even run her debut race yet. Getting caught up in a failed class would be pretty awkward.

"That's a relief. I'll also make time to keep an eye on your grades."

After adding that with a nod, Yasui Makoto began packing up to leave.

As usual, Hokubu Genkoma cheerfully offered, "Trainer, let me carry your things," and slung his shoulder bag over her shoulder for him.

Afterward, they went to the cafeteria for dinner as usual. Once they'd finished eating, Yasui Makoto took his tablet out of his backpack.

"I asked you before what you wanted to do in the future. So, have you found your answer?"

Planning a career path was the Trainer's responsibility.

Only a Trainer could apply to the academy and the URA Association to arrange races for their Assigned Uma Musume.

But by convention, unless an Uma Musume had no clear ideas of her own, Trainers of every kind respected her wishes. Even when they disagreed, they would patiently talk things through and decide on a direction for the future together.

Yasui Makoto considered himself a very decisive person.

In his previous life, he hadn't needed companions. He'd taken full responsibility for the consequences of everything he did.

In the first few years after arriving in this world, whenever something came up, he hadn't discussed it with his parents either. He'd made his own decisions.